Where It Stops, Nobody Knows
by throwmoneyattheproblem12
Summary: AU Fic. Katniss is a wealthy teen with a slave living in the Capitol drowning in societal pressure to follow in the footsteps of her highly successful parents. Peeta lives in District 12 and needs a plan to escape before he is sold as a slave to an entitled Capitol family. Both teens aspire to run away as none of this is what they want, it's just what they know.
1. Chapter 1

Set in: The Capitol

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

Katniss groaned with distaste as her digital alarm clock blared it's annoying buzzing sound and lit up her blissfully darkened room. She elongated her right arm but her body couldn't reach the small device. She muttered a string of profanities before raising her body upward and crawling across her king size bed to shut the obnoxious noise off. She looked at the green numbers illuminating the screen. 10:35 AM. She slid completely back under the comforter and cursed whoever thought that it would be a good idea to start school and such an ungodly time in the morning.

The next time she opened her eyes, she saw her clock read 11:05 AM. Katniss groaned again with the dissatisfaction that 11:05 felt no later than 10:35. She slowly threw her legs over the bed and jumped to the floor. She hit a switch on her wall near the door that lit up the glass chandelier dangling from the ceiling and opened the drapes that covered her windows that stretched from the ceiling to the ground. She caught a glimpse at herself in the full-length mirror and pouted at the fact that her hair was messier than normal. She strode over to the switch near the door again but held down the button underneath it.

"Miss Everdeen, how may I service you?" a voice echoed through the speakers of her room.

"I'll need you to bring the straightener. My hair is extra crazy today," Katniss called back.

"As you wish. I'm in the bottom floor kitchen so give me a bit." the voice replied before the speakers shut off. Katniss sat in her leather chair at her desk to await her slave, Alma, to do her hair for the morning. She hates referring to Alma as a slave but she knows that's exactly what she is to the Everdeen family. Alma has been a slave to the Everdens since she was eighteen years old and Katniss was just a baby. Alma was sold to the Capitol from District 7. Mitchell and Primrose Everdeen purchased her and she has not been back since. The Capitol is the wealthiest and most populous area in the whole country and is where all the government branches reside. Alma was there when Katniss took her first steps, when she broke her arm, and the first time she kissed a boy in middle school. And with Katniss' own parents traveling for work most months out of the year, Alma felt more like a mother to Katniss.

"Oh, child, your hair is a disaster," Alma chuckled upon getting off the elevator to enter Katniss' room.

"I guess I was moving around a lot last night," Katniss yawned as she spun her chair around. Alma parted her hair and began straightening it as Katniss tried not to fall asleep.

"I wish I didn't have school so early. I'm sure everyone there would be a lot happier if it started later than noon," Katniss grumbled with her eyes closed.

"Noon isn't so bad. Other districts go much earlier," Alma replied.

"We're not a typical district, we live in the Capitol. That should mean something," Katniss said. Alma shook her head and finished her hair and Katniss scurried downstairs to the Everdeen's sprawling kitchen to have breakfast with her father as she did every morning before school on days he was in town.

Katniss' father was the CEO Techco, a company that designs computers that act like personal assistants. He's been the CEO for over twenty years and it was nearly offensive to not recognize the name Mitchell Everdeen in the Capitol.

"Katniss, have you finished your application of Panem University?" he asked her not looking up from his computer

"No, dad I haven't. I was swamped with homework from my biotechnology class last night," she replied.

"Well, get it done sooner rather than later. I've exhausted all of my connections with that University to get you two extensions already. Also, slave auctions for Districts 11 and 12 are coming up. Interested in getting one?" Mr. Everdeen acquired.

"I know. I'll get to it tonight, I promise. And you want me to have a slave in college? Really?" Katniss smirked.

"Well, Alma certainly won't be coming with you as we'll need her here. I'd think about it, Katniss," he replied before answering a work call.

I'll see you next week," she spook as she got up to grab her Mercedes Benz keys.

Katniss pulled out of her gated home and began the short drive to her school, Arena High School. She was a senior and all anyone wanted to talk with her about now was what prestigious university she would go to. With her dad being the CEO of the computers every kid in school uses and her mother a well known journalist on TV, it was impossible for Katniss to fly under the radar. Her teachers and classmates always pestered her to ask if she's choosing Panem University or Carolina University. She hasn't been accepted to Carolina yet and hasn't even submitted her application to Panem but she knew she'd get into both. Her grades weren't exactly stellar but with her parents alumni status and masses of money donated to each university every year, she knew she wouldn't have a problem. If it were really up to her though, she wouldn't go to either university. What she really wants to do is become an artist and sell her paintings somewhere far away from the Capitol or any of the districts. But she knows that could never happen. She's been under a microscope for as long as she can remember and if the Capitol heard that billionaire Mitchell Everdeen's only daughter fled to country to go paint on the streets, he'd be the laughing stock of the country. And she refuses to do that to her father. So she'll attend one of the prestigious universities and major in computer science to someday take over her family's company just as everyone expects her to.

She pulled into the spot at AHS reserved for her right next to her boyfriend's Bentley. Her boyfriend, Gale Hawthorne, was going to Panem University despite his subpar grades. His father was the all-star quarterback for the Panem University Hawks and Gale will follow in his footsteps. Although she would never reveal it to him, she doesn't think he's _that_ good of a football player to play at a collegiate level, but the fact that Panem will have another Hawthorne on the field will surely excite the entire Capitol.

She linked arms with Gale upon getting out of her car and they walked to their first hour class, Digital Technology Applications. The class was intense and run like a college course much like the rest of the classes offered at Arena High are. The high school is separated by four sanctions, the liberal arts department, the arts department, the media industry, and engineering and technology, which is where Katniss and Gale are. She hated walking by the art rooms as they were always so vibrant and full of laughter and she longed to be a part of it all. The room she was in was futuristic looking filled with at least fifty computers despite there only being fifteen students in each class. There were lab rooms attached to each classroom for experiments and hands on learning to take place. It was white and sterile and she'd been told it was supposed to model what an old company named _Apple _looked like. Each classroom had two teachers and Katniss couldn't imagine there being any less than that. Katniss sat down and logged into one of her four personal computers at the school only to be greeted by an instant message from her father.

_MEverdeen: Moved your internship so you could work under Cinna's wing. You'll help him install sonic chips into the soft drives. Should be good. _

Katniss groaned at the message. She had longed for a summer with her feet in the sand and laying out until the sun went down where her biggest worry would be if the tide would get to close to her lawn chair. But she'd be working at her father's company as she'd been doing since she was a young girl. She clicked out of her messages and switched over to her coding program. Her classmates where light years ahead of her while she still had hours left to code.

"Do you want to intern with my dad this summer?" Katniss asked Gale while looking at the computer screen.

"No way, girl. I'll be training with Coach Graham. That's all you," he chuckled as he placed tiny green chips into a hard drive. One of the teachers began lecturing and the computers began to type of what she was saying on their own. Katniss opened up another window though despite all the coding she had left to finish her application for PU. She stared at the photos of the seemingly happy students on Panem's homepage and wondered if they were there because they wanted to be or if they felt the immense social pressure that makes you feel your drowning even when you do what is expected of you.

"Don't get too excited about college or anything," Gale commented as he watched her drearily stare at the screen.

"What's there to get excited about? I'll probably go to Panem and major in what my father majored in and take over his company and do that for the rest of my life. Maybe get a couple of District slaves and get married and raise a family. And you'll play football just like your father and get married yourself and have some kids who will play football too and do exactly what you're going to do. So, excuse me that the thought of starting this recidivistic journey doesn't exactly fill me with excitement. We're all made out of this ticky tacky and we'll all come out just the same. Oh, but we'll be so wealthy. And that's all that matters," she bitterly replied and forcefully hit the submit button to finalize her application that held minimal effort. Gale didn't say anything back as he knew everything she said was accurate about every student in the Capitol. They were all made of ticky tacky and they'll come out just the same.

Set in: District 12

Peeta Mellark laid in his twin bed with his younger sister draped over his chest as he listened to his older brother's snoring on the ground. It was his turn to sleep in the bed that night and he thought that meant he'd get a better night's sleep than he had the previous night but his mind wouldn't stop racing. His older brother, Rye, was going to find out what Capitol family he'd be a slave for the next day and he was surprised Rye was able to sleep at all. He was so content with becoming a Capitol slave that it was admirable and made Peeta nauseous at the same time. The high school they attend would decide if it's students were a better fit to either be a slave for a Capitol family or if they should work one of the mines or food establishments, where they are paid two dollars an hour.

Rye had told Peeta he was fine being sent to the Capitol, where he'd be living in a mansion that had working heat and air conditioner. The fact that he'd have to wait on someone hand and foot didn't faze him. It infuriated Peeta. He refused to be someone's servant. Working somewhere in District 12 though did not have much appeal either. Peeta stretched his arm under the bed to grab a small sack of money. It only had $83.70, but he had a few more months to save up. He planned on running away before his school to end him to the Capitol or a District 12 establishment. He dreamed of opening his own bakery and with District 12 being the poorest of all the Districts, he knew this was not the place to do it. He'd hopefully save enough money to book himself and his sister, Coral, a flight somewhere overseas and never return.

His alarm clock began buzzing and the time flashed 5:00 AM as his siblings groggily arose to begin the day. Peeta, Rye and Coral all walked to school in the blistering cold and blowing snow. They parted ways upon arrival to the decrepit building at six in the morning. He was thankful he only had one class today, a class that taught him how to style hair. He was nervous upon receiving this class as it's one Rye was in the previous semester before he found out he'd be a Capitol slave. His class was packed with sixty students in the small room with only ten textbooks to go around. They were learning how to do a fishtail braid, a popular hairstyle for girls in the Capitol. Peeta sprayed his already filthy shirt with hairspray about ten times before he finally got the look right on his model. The teacher probably didn't see him though as she was breaking up a fight at the front of the classroom.

When Peeta got out of school, he went straight to his father's bakery to work until midnight. The bakery was particularly crowded today and he found himself running back and fourth with his father all throughout the bakery.

"Looks like you have company," his father smiled at him as three preteen girls walked in the bakery. They conveniently only came in when Peeta was working solely to flirt with him.

"What can I get you ladies?" Peeta called from the cash register. The girls were dressed in ripped jeans and faded sweaters that is about as fancy as District 12 can get.

"Oh, I don't know, what do you think I'll like?" the blonde one giggled.

"Our blueberry muffins are fresh out of the oven," he dully replied.

"Oh, let's get four of those!" she beamed. Peeta grabbed the tongs to put four different muffins in paper bags.

"We heard about Rye. I'm sure you'll miss him once he goes to the Capitol," the brunette said to him.

"Yeah, well. He's not exactly dreading it. I think he'll be okay," Peeta replied. He was worried Rye would be placed with a family that would do horrific things to him like he'd heard in stories at school but he tried not to let on.

"I don't know, I kind of hope I'm placed as a slave when I'm in high school. I could go to a really nice family and they could have a daughter my age and we could be best friends," the blonde beamed.

"Or she could be totally horrible and make you scrub the entire house at all hours of the night," another girl replied.

"You ladies have a nice day," Peeta forced a grin and handed the girls their receipt to get them out. Just hearing about all the possibilities of Capitol homes bothered him.

The rest of the night went by slowly as expected and Peeta's father left to attend to his other job at the mines. Peeta decided to go into the back kitchen to practice recipes he'd been devising to put in his own bakery somewhere overseas. A couple hours went by and he heard the jingle of the bell at the front door to signal someone was here. He glanced at the clock that read 11:20 PM and wondered who wanted bread this late.

He walked out front and was relieved to see Rye's familiar face. His grin quickly faltered though to see him holding the sack of money Peeta had been hiding for over a year.

"You want to explain what all this is, little brother?" Rye's deep voice boomed and echoed throughout the bakery.

"It's just some extra money," he replied quietly and refused to make eye contact with his brother.

"Some extra money? Peeta, there is nearly $100 dollars in here! Are you aware our sister has deformed feet now because we could never afford shoes that fit her? Do you realize what we could do with that amount of money? Why have you been saving it?"  
"I just need it."

"For what? You're clearly not spending any of it on yourself!" Rye yelled as he pointed at Peeta's ripped pants that were too short for him. Peeta sighed. If he knew anything about his brother, he knew he wouldn't back down without a valid explanation for situations like these. One time he had cornered Peeta until he would admit that he ate the last bit of steak left over from their previous hunt. He puffed his chest out and thought there was no use in lying to his brother now.

"I need it because I'm going to get out of District 12 before I'm sold as a slave or before I have to work at any of the establishments here. I want to open my own bakery somewhere outside of the country," Peeta boldly replied. Rye's face faltered and a glint of fright went over his eyes but anger quickly replaced it.

"And what about Coral? You just going to leave her here?" Rye asked.

"I'm saving for her too. I would save for you too if you weren't so gung-ho about going to the Capitol," Peeta retorted.

"The Capitol _is_ my ticket out of District 12, Peeta. I have a chance to get out of here, why would I shy away from that?"

"Because you're going to Capitol to become a _slave_, Rye! I don't understand why everyone here is so okay with that! I can't be someone's servant, I just can't. And when the choices are that or working some place here for no money are my only options you can't blame me for wanting to get out," Peeta shouted as he stomped to the back of the bakery. Rye jumped over the counter and followed him to the back to find his younger brother sitting in a chair with his head in his hands. Rye sighed.

"Maybe you could take over for dad here. You already know how to do everything here and you're his son. That counts for something," Rye spoke softly.

"And what, settle in this town just like dust? I need to get off this broken merry go 'round, Rye. Maybe you'll realize someday you do too," Peeta replied.

"Maybe you need to realize that this is just how it is. This is what society expects out of District kids. There's no point in trying to change a society that is deemed good. It's never going to change or slow down, Peeta."

"It's deemed good by the Capitol because it's good for them. Nothing about this life is good for you or I. None of this is what we want it's just what we know. Come with me, Rye, we can get out of here together, right now." Peeta spoke with a crazed look in his eyes.

"I can't."

"Yes, you can, we can ju-"

"I just _can't,_" Rye loudly spoke as he got up and walked towards the door of the bakery. He looked back at Peeta's strained face.

"And you're not taking Coral with you either," Rye spoke as he walked out the door. Peeta sighed as the bakery now sounded eerily quiet. He glanced over to the counter and saw that Rye had left the sack of money. He was getting off this broken merry go 'round if it was the last thing he did.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: This is my first HG fanfic after being absent for quite some time! Enjoy, this is an AU fic . Also don't fear, this will NOT be a Katniss/Gale fic. Stay tuned xx.

Set in: The Capitol

Katniss swung her bag into the bench that was placed to the right of her front door upon returning home after school. She grimaced when she heard her buckles and key chains to her backpack hit the smooth wood and she cringed and waited for someone to scold her for scuffing the mahogany. She was instead greeted by silence and she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Gale walked in behind her and moments upon clicking the front door shut, he backed her against it and kissed her. She kissed him back but her mind was blank. She officially sent in her college application for Panem a few weeks ago and was expecting a response sooner rather than later, especially because she submitted her application so late and the date to declare a university was approaching. Gale sensed her distraught body language and pulled his lips away from hers.

"What?" he questioned with his hands around her waist. She shrugged with her forehead against her. He sighed and she felt his warm breath tingle her nose.

"I feel like you're a million miles away from me sometimes. Just talk to me, Katniss," he whispered.

"No, I'm not. I'm right here, with you. There's nothing to talk about," she ran a hand through his hair. He gave her a tight smile in return and backed away. Katniss felt a sting of pain in her stomach when she looked up at his solemn face, she knew she was getting more and more distant with Gale lately but she couldn't for the life of her figure out why. He walked down the hall and into the kitchen and she could hear him making small talk with Alma. She inhaled the aroma of what she knew to be Alma's famous chicken potpie and her stomach growled. She sat on the couch of her living room and waited for Gale to join her. After a few seconds she turned around and saw him leaning against the fridge suddenly entranced with the blue flames of the stove. She sighed and sunk back down on the couch.

She could feel that he was becoming increasingly irked with her and she couldn't blame him. She'd began ignoring his calls and texts to work on her paintings and lately all he could talk about was Panem University and football. She knows that's what he'd always talked about but recently it's been infuriating her.

"So, PU has this mountain with their mascot painted into it and the week before the Carolina game they send the freshmen players up there to protect it. I guess it gets painted purple all the time," Gale comments to Alma.

"Oh my lord, you will absolutely freeze up there," Alma chuckled as she washed her hands.

"Nah, I'm sure I'll be fine," he winks at Alma. Katniss rolls her eyes at the smooth macho man act he puts up around Alma.

"Katniss, do you have that thing you needed me to do?" Gale asks. Katniss wrinkles her nose.

"What thing?"

"You know, the _thing _I never got around to finishing last weekend," Gale gave her smoldering look. She met his darkened eyes and knew exactly what he was referring to. He blew off going to Charlie's Burger Joint after his game to spend the night with her tangled in her white sheets with their bodies melded to one another. Katniss suspected that was an attempt to close the gap that's been growing between them but she knows it really didn't do anything to alleviate it. Although she'd be lying if she said his face buried between her legs didn't alleviate something.

"Yeah, you should probably get on that," she grinned at him as she got up to pull him up to her room. Soon Gale had her pinned down to her bed and she kissed him more passionately this time. His lips trailed down her neck and to her chest and she ran her hands through his hair. She kept wondering why this didn't feel the way it used to. The first time Gale kissed her body like this, it felt like a million electric bolts shooting through her and she could hardly breathe. Now, it was as if he wasn't even there. Her computer made a pinging noise to her right and lit up her room. She squinted to see it was an email from Panem University with a bold font in the subject line saying _you're in!_. She stared at it and envisioned herself moving into a dorm possibly with her slave in tow and attending more computer courses and being just as trapped as she was in high school.

"You want to open it?" Gale peered up at her from her bunched up shirt. She sighed and swung her legs over the bed and clicked on it.

"It's Panem. I got in." Katniss spook with a stoic tone.

"That's great, babe," Gale whispered and kissed her cheek.

"It is, isn't it?" She grinned slightly. She should be happy about this. She should be thrilled. Except she isn't. She really isn't happy about any of this.

Set in: District 12

Peeta didn't end up leaving that night. He debated it, and he sat with the sack of money in his lap for a long time debating it, but he couldn't do it. Not yet.

A few weeks later and the day had finally came where Rye gets sent off to live with his new Capitol family. Peeta noticed he'd been less cocky about it lately. He sat on the bed as Rye packed the few belongings he has. Coral ran around room trying to help but really she was just getting in the way.

"Oh, and don't forget to courtesy the woman, Rye, you _don't_ want to offend her," Coral stated as she dropped a shirt into his bag.

"Will do, kiddo," Rye replied as he ran a hand through her hair.

"He doesn't need that many clothes, Coral. The Capitol is going to give him new ones," Peeta commented. Rye tied his bag into a knot and swung it over his shoulder. He avoided eye contact with Peeta just as he's been doing ever since he found the sack of money. Peeta waited until Coral ran out of the room.

"So. Are you ready?" Peeta questioned with his knees to his chest.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Rye replied as he walked out the door. This isn't how he wanted he wanted his last few days with his older brother to be like.

Suddenly a loud rapping at the door made him jump. His stomach turned quickly with the realization of what was happening. They were here.

"Rye Mellark, do we have a Rye Mellark in here?" A screechy voice echoed throughout the small home. Peeta walked to the main room and his eyes took a moment to adjust. A woman with purple hair that nearly touched their ceiling stood before them. Her makeup was extravagant and all the sashes and accessories she wore nearly took up the entire doorway. Coral had to bury her head into Peeta's side to not laugh.

"Yeah, I'm right here." Rye replied.

"Oh, lovely! Well, we're early and our train awaits. We're ready to go when you are! I, Effie Trinket, will be escorting you today. Oh, heavens, we'll be getting you into the shower as soon as possible," Effie wrinkled her nose and waved her hands in front of her face. Rye gave her a small smile and turned to embrace his parents. Coral ran over to him as Peeta stood alongside them and watched Effie talk about the condition of his home with two other Capitol men outside. Coral started sobbing and he watched his parents fight back tears too. Rye then turned to Peeta and engulfed him in a bear hug. Peeta couldn't remember the last time anyone had hugged him this tight. He felt any tension between them melt away in their embrace.

"I'll miss you, buddy," Peeta mumbled.

"Look out for the family Peeta," Rye commented as he gripped Peeta's shoulders when he backed away before pulling him into another hug.

"But look out for yourself too," Rye whispered. Peeta gave him a sad smile.

"Come, come!" Effie yelled out from the yard. Rye said his final goodbyes and climbed into the car. Coral wailed for him and his parents had to drag her back inside. Peeta leaned against his mailbox and watched the car drive away until all he could see was two red headlights in the fog. He stood outside for an undetermined amount of time with his head in a haze. He ignored the frigid temperatures and looked around his decrepit neighborhood. At least Rye will live somewhere warmer and greener just as he'd always wanted. It was slowly starting to dawn on him that he didn't know when he'd see his brother again, if ever. He exhaled a breath he didn't know he was holding and he flipped open the mailbox. He flipped through some envelopes and paused on one that had his name on it with a return address belonging from the Capitol. His stomach dropped and his heartbeat stalled. It was getting colder but he was suddenly sweating profusely. He knew slave placements were coming soon but he figured since some of his friends got theirs last week, he was safe. His fingers shook as he tore the envelope open and let the rest of the mail flop to the ground. He took a shaky breath and began to read.

_Peeta Mellark, we would like to congratulate you on being selected to become a sla-_

Peeta let the letter fall to the ground. If he thought his heart was pumping hard before, he was almost positive it was going to beat out of his chest now. He felt a tingling sensation throughout his whole body and he felt a lump on his throat. With all of the force had he swung his fist into the rusty mailbox and created a dent. The thwacking of his hand against the tin stung his hand and drew attention from his neighbors. He didn't care though. He couldn't think straight and he continued to perspire. He was selected to become a slave.


End file.
